Former Ill. Gov. Blasts Death Penalty

Former Gov. George Ryan said Monday that the country should be "embarrassed by capital punishment," but he once again stopped short of saying it should be abolished.

Ryan, speaking at a conference on violence at Chicago State University, called the death penalty "barbaric" even when the inmate is clearly guilty.

But after the speech, he said: "I still believe there may be a case for the death penalty."

He said he wanted to see whether state lawmakers adopt any of the reforms recommended by a commission he appointed to examine the death penalty before he makes a statement on whether capital punishment should be abolished.

Just before leaving office in January, Ryan granted clemency to every inmate on Illinois' death row before he left office in January.

During his speech Monday, Ryan talked about his journey from a staunch supporter of the death penalty to a man who had profound doubts. He told the audience about his decision to declare a moratorium on executions more than three years ago after 13 inmates on Illinois' death row were found to have been wrongly convicted.

"I asked myself, 'Where is the justice in a system that can allow this to happen?'" he said.

Ryan said the more he has examined capital punishment, the more he favors sentencing those who might otherwise receive the death penalty to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Further, Ryan suggested that doing away with the death penalty might benefit the families of victims because it would mean that they would not have to endure the years and years of appeals filed by the killers of their loved ones.

"Are we rewarding these killers by putting them to death?" said Ryan, suggesting that life without parole might be the harsher sentence.